Medal recognizes 65 years of service

FAITHFUL VOLUNTEER

POWASSAN – After a local child drowned while trying to cross the South River, the Lions Club committed to making sure the area’s children were properly trained.

“I was the president of the Lions Club in 1955 when we decided to build the pool,” said Joe Giesler, a 65-year club member.

Giesler said the tragic loss of a young life greatly impacted the tight-knit community.

“That’s why we decided to build the pool. To teach kids to swim,” he said. “We had a bit of money in the bank at that time and the contractor was very good to us.”

According to Giesler, the town was putting in the waterworks at the same time, so the club hired the same contractor to build the outdoor pool at a cost of about $10,000.

“The town supplied the instructors and life guards, but the Lions Club built the pool itself,” he explained.

Opened in 1956, the pool was a local hotspot and still is.

This and Giesler’s many other contributions to the community and the Lions Club were celebrated on Jan. 14 when he was presented with a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, an honour that his family and friends went to painstaking efforts to keep concealed until the ceremony.

“They had me fooled,” said Giesler. “It was totally out of this world.”

Even Giesler’s wife Bernadette was able to keep the medal a secret.

On the pool, Powassan Mayor Peter McIsaac was very certain of the positive impact the project had on the community.

“It has been said that pool has saved a lot of lives,” said McIsaac to the packed Lions Den in the Glendale Community Centre. “I believe it. A lot of people learned to swim at that pool – myself, my sister and my daughters. It is a real jewel for this community.”

Giesler was also the chair of the building committee in charge of the construction of the Sportsplex in 1978.

“I was pretty proud of that because by the time we had the rink complete, we also had it paid for,” he said. “We raised $500,000.”

“I’m proud to have received this award because there are a lot of people here that have done a lot more than I have,” he said. “We have a really good town in Powassan. You can’t live here for 87 years and not be involved.”

Both having been raised in Powassan, Giesler and Bernadette married 63 years ago at St. Josephs Church in Powassan. The same place where they met while singing in the church choir.

Even at age 87, Giesler is still hard at work at the family business.

“I started building boats in 1940 and I’m still here,” he said of Giesler Boat Builders. “We’ve built close to 20,000 boats.”

According to Giesler, his dad began building boats in 1926. Now, Giesler’s nephew Gerry, who also holds a seat on Powassan’s council, operates the business.

“I work there in the parts department,” explained Giesler. “I saw all the lumber and make all the parts for the boats.”

Giesler said the business operates with about eight employees.

“We’ve got a good crew,” he said.

When asked if he had any plans of retirement, Giesler responded with a laugh, “It’s too late.”

None of Giesler’s three children, Jo-Anne, Jennifer, and Jim, chose to follow in his career footsteps. Although, he said his son, who works as a mechanic, is much needed on his personal pit crew.

“Jim keeps all of my toys going,” he said with a laugh, listing his extensive fleet of recreational vehicles.

With a hunt camp near Restoule and a cottage on Lake Nipissing, Giesler likes to spend his free time hunting deer and moose, and fishing.

“I fish every chance I get,” he said. “I like to fish for Great Northern Pike, but they seem to be disappearing. There aren’t as many out there as there used to be.”

Giesler’s family was on hand at the presentation, where it was also evident his close ties to the Oshell family after Giesler served for 17 years on council as deputy-mayor to the late Merv Oshell.

Peter Oshell served as emcee of the evening and wasn’t shy with his admiration for Giesler.

“He is a man of exceptional common sense. That’s a trait that is all too often overlooked these days,” said Oshell. “…I cannot think of a more deserving individual for this sort of recognition in our municipality.”

Oshell also joked that Giesler is more than deserving of the Jubilee medal serving five years longer with the Lions Club than Queen Elizabeth has been in the throne.

He has also been married longer than the Queen’s reign and that special bond with Bernadette was certainly evident during his remarks after the warm applause following the presentation.

“If I have had any success, it has all been because of my wife Bernadette.”